Marsa Matruh

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Marsa Matruh is an Egyptian port city and capital of the Matruh governorate. The city was called Paraitonion ( ) or Ammonia ( ) by the Ptolemaeans and Byzantines and bore the name Paraetonium in Roman times.

Position
The city is located about 288 km west of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea and north of the Qattara Sink. Through Marsa Matruh leads the coastal road between the Nile Delta and Libya, the only road to the Siwa oasis branches off to the south. For the water supply, the city is almost completely dependent on the rain falling in winter.

History
Archaeological finds prove that Marsa Matruh was already used as a goods transhipment point during the Amarna period and served as an intermediate stop for the trade route from the Nile Delta to the Aegean Sea via Keftiu (Crete). For the epoch of the Amarna period, unlike numerous Cypriot, Levantine and ancient Egyptian goods, no Minoan commodities could be proven. Ramses II Later, in the neighboring Zawiyet region, Umm el-Rakham built border fortifications against the Libyans.
Alexander the Great moved from here (Paraetonion) to the Ammon Oracle (Oasis Siwa) in 331 BC.
In Ptolemaic times, the city was probably a polis and capital of the province of Libya. In Roman times, the city was called Paraetonium and was inferior in late antiquity under Emperor Diocletian capital of the province of Libya, but later lost this position to Darna. Emperor Justinian I fortified the city. He also provided them with a garrison. Various bishops have testified. During excavations, two churches were found. In 2001, excavations discovered the remains of a Coptic church from the 4th or 5th century.

During World War II, the place was a British base and terminus of the single-track railway line from Alexandria via El-Alamein here. Between 1940 and 1942, the war came several times to Marsa Matruh. The Italians, the German Afrikakorps and the British 8. The army came through here. In addition to other warships, the German U-boat U 75 1941 was sunk off the coast by the British. In 1941, later Egyptian President Anwar as-Sadat was stationed here for a short time.

During the Libyan-Egyptian border war in 1977, the local military base was the target of a Libyan airstrike.

The Modern City

The small Marsa Matruh airport is located in the southwest of the city. The city is an excursion destination for tourists from the major cities of Cairo and Alexandria. Some modern hotels have been built on the beaches. The population in 2008 was about 137,704.
A fast train connection from the Egyptian Railway Company connects the city with Cairo. To the west, the route continues to Sallum near the Libyan border.

Climate table

Literature

Eric H. Cline: The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (about 3000-1000 BC). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010 ISBN 978-0-19-536550-4

Weblinks

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